It is one of the really big success stories in the history of medicine. And in some ways it is also a family story. For many years the father of chemist Dr. Felix Hoffmann suffered agonizing pain caused by rheumatism. The doctors had prescribed sodium salicylate, a drug based on salicylic acid. However, it tasted so awful that the patient had to vomit every time he took it.

His son attempted to optimize the preparation. And he was successful. Felix Hoffmann, a member of Bayer's pharmaceutical-chemical research staff, had created a masterpiece. By acetylating salicylic acid using acetic acid (or acetum in Latin), he had produced acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in a chemically pure and stable form. This not only had a pleasant, dry, acidy taste, it also proved to be easy on the lining of the stomach.

Key date: August 10, 1897

The historic laboratory record of the first synthesis is dated August 10, 1897, and can be regarded as the birth certificate of a drug that was to shape the world: Aspirin. On March 6, 1899, the substance was entered under this name in the trademark register of the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin.

Triumphant conquest of the world

Since then, the active substance has conquered the world in an unprecedented manner. Mixed with starch to make Aspirin, ASA was one of the very first drugs to be made available in tablet-form, and it soon became a standard worldwide remedy for pain, inflammation and fever. Other forms later joined the standard white tablets – including chewable Aspirin, granules, effervescent tablets, and solutions for injection. Today, Aspirin is regarded as the most successful non-prescription medicine of all time.

Versatile ASA

And with good reason: ASA relieves pain, reduces fever and is anti-inflammatory. As John R. Vane, professor of pharmacology at London's Royal College, discovered in the early 1970s, the active substance inhibits the body's own production of prostaglandins, which intensify pain. In 1982, Vane was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for this discovery.

Today, we have known for a long time that the active substance can do a lot more than that. In fact, hardly any other substance supports such a diversity of therapies. Interest in further research is correspondingly great. Every year, some 3,500 scientific publications deal with new mechanisms of action and indication areas for acetylsalicylic acid. The findings are remarkable: they range from using ASA against diabetes and in migraine therapy to preventing cardiovascular disease and various types of cancer.

Eighth wonder of the world

Today, Aspirin is available in over 80 countries. Flying high in the truest sense of the word, Aspirin tablets were even taken on board the space capsule Apollo 11 when it flew into outer space in 1969. Nowadays, 74 percent of the population of the US regard aspirin as the eighth wonder of the world. "Take two aspirins and call me in the morning" is a familiar saying.

As Gary S. Balkema, head of Bayer HealthCare's Consumer Care Division stresses, there is no end in sight for multitalent ASA: "Aspirin is unbeatable as a drug, and there is still a lot of potential in the active substance of Bayer's flagship." So ASA's future looks like being exciting too.

Advice for patients
Every body reacts differently to medicines. Therefore it is impossible to tell which medicine works best for you. Please consult your physician or pharmacist.